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Leadership development is one of Extension's major objectives. The
Texas Agricultural Extension Service provides educational
opportunities for people to improve their skills in leadership, in
addition to members gaining practical experience by serving on the
Council in leadership roles.
Leadership develops from opportunities to be in decisionmaking
situations and taking an active part in all phases of the program.
Leadership is not, in this perspective, a quality that exists only in
certain persons. Instead, it is a skill that can be learned and
practiced when opportunities arise. Likewise, it is a shared process
- more than one person can be involved in carrying out a leadership
role for a particular situation.
Leadership is demonstrated when people, as a group, select and act on
an area of concern to them, choosing a plan to solve a problem, and
actively taking the necessary steps to reduce or eliminate the
problem.
A number of benefits can come to leaders from their participation:
- Self-fulfillment;
- Increased confidence in decisionmaking and action;
- Opportunity to learn leadership and problem solving;
- Opportunity to practice leadership skills;
- Contact with others in the county, region and state;
- Respect as an acknowledged community or county leader;
- Prestige from being identified with a successful system
of informal education.
The community can also grow and improve from this process of
leadership development in Extension program development:
- Leaders are an effective way to introduce Extension's assigned
program responsibilities into their communities.
- Leadership is extended to other community settings, and other
organizations and projects can benefit.
- The county's economy and social development are improved by
positive leadership actions.
- Family, county and community situations can be improved through
problem identification and problem solving processes.
Other benefits can come to Extension's educational program
from volunteer leader involvement:
- Improved program quality and effectiveness;
- Improved good will between the public and Extension;
- Greater knowledge, creativity and leadership skills of people
to help in program development;
- Continuity between what citizens want and what Extension offers;
- More accurate decisions about relevant needs and opportunities;
- Wider base from which to acquire program volunteers;
- Better participation when programs are planned by participants or
their representatives;
- Increased interest and enthusiasm;
- Improved evaluation because of closer knowledge of and contact
with the public;
- Greater accountability;
- Program legitimation which speeds the process of change and
reduces resistance;
- Multiplication of agents' efforts by leaders' efforts;
- Improved resources when leaders know about and support programs;
- A broader support base for budget and administrative concerns.
Volunteer involvement can be strengthened by use of a formal
volunteer action plan. In this strategy, needs are assessed,
opportunities are planned and a commitment is made to recruit, train,
involve and recognize volunteers for their participation and
leadership in the active Extension educational program.
Acceptance by target audiences requires that the Extension educator
identify closely with the formal and informal leadership of that
public. This step, which is necessary in determining the needs of
that target audience and securing its commitment to participate in
programs focused on its needs, is affected by the authority and power
vested in the leaders of that group of people. There are several
approaches to identify the leadership of a group: [43]
- Decisionmaking - identifies leaders who are active and
involved in community issues; analysis of several of the decisions in
which these persons were involved may help establish the extent of
their leadership.
- Social participation - in which leadership is assumed to
be acquired through membership and holding office in voluntary
organizations.
- Reputational - involves interviewing influentials in a
targeted group. The influentials are presumed to have broad
knowledge of the decisionmaking processes of the target group, and to
be in a position to identify those leaders who have the influence to
affect a number of issues of interest to the target group.
- Positional - in which power is assumed to rest in the top
leadership positions (offices) in formal organizations that are relevant
to the educational programming.
Linkage with target audiences is incomplete until the Extension
educator establishes effective communication with their identified
leaders. Communication requires a variety of skills - written,
oral, one-to-one, group and through mass media.
Interfacing with leaders and potential leaders of target audiences
has three goals: 1) building the trust that is essential for working
together on program planning; 2) collaboratively identifying
educational needs; and 3) developing and improving decision skills in
the lay leaders.
Identifying Emerging Leaders. Identifying potential leaders
is more difficult than identifying current leaders, but is worth the
extra effort. Potential leaders can be identified in several ways:
- People who provide much of the information on which decisions are
made and often have major responsibility for carrying out the
decisions. These people may hold supervisory and administrative
positions in educational, religious, governmental, social service and
other community organizations.
- People who have technical knowledge needed for a project, or have
special information about a particular issue. While they serve a
specific function related to a certain project, their involvement may
identify them as potential leaders for more general community
leadership.
- People who have a special ability to work with groups.
- Customers, clients and members of organizations who work together
on community projects. Their capacities and interest in the
community serve to identify them for other leadership roles.
The assumption is that these are the community's leaders in the years ahead
and involving them gradually in programming responsibilities will enhance
the quality of their leadership for later roles. [44]
Careful attention should be given to identifying and working with minority
leadership - racial/ethnic groups and women - because white, middle-class
males tend to be overrepresented in leadership positions throughout the
United States.
Racial/ethnic minority leaders can be identified by using the following
steps: [45]
- Through either a reputational or positional approach, identify leaders
in minority groups and organizations. If a reputational approach is
used, be sure that the "knowledgeable" people who identify the leaders
truly understand the minority group.
- Try to determine whether these leaders are closely identified with the
majority leadership, with their own minority group, or have strong ties
to both.
- Constantly encourage groups and organizations to reach out for new
leadership from among minority leaders so that a wide spectrum of the
community is involved in community activities.
Women Leaders. Much of what is known about leadership has
been developed by men, using male subjects. Thus, leadership traits
(assertiveness and self-confidence) are more often assigned to men
than to women, or the same trait may be viewed differently for the
two genders (for example, a woman may be perceived as "aggressive"
but a man is "assertive"). Adams and Yoder
[46] noted
that "evidence from contemporary studies on sex-roles and leadership
indicates that men and women, with similar education, career
aspirations and training, have basically identical scores on measures
of psychological masculinity and femininity." In other words, the
traits we assume are important in good leadership can be found among
candidates of both genders.
Although women are the numerical majority in our society, men make up
the bulk of the membership and leadership of many community groups.
This arrangement tends to perpetuate itself when new members are
sought and new leadership is named.
If Extension educators help people realize that leadership is a
process, that it is situational, and that it is shared, there will be
less emphasis on the gender and racial characteristics of the leader.
Instead, emphasis will shift to the leadership qualities and skills
needed at a particular place and time, and to persons best able to
offer them. When skills and abilities become the criteria, women and
minority group members will assume more active roles and take on more
leadership responsibilities in groups and community efforts. [47]
Since leadership is a process that is learned, it is important for
Extension educators to accept leadership development as a major
responsibility. Extension faculty may begin by identifying and
working with current leaders, but need to go on to identify and work
with new and emerging leaders. This attention to leadership is vital
because much of what happens in communities is brought about by
volunteers working in groups.
Leadership development is a gradual process. Once volunteers are
identified, the next step is to help them make use of their skills in
suitable leadership positions. On a practical scale, volunteer
leaders are asked to accept specific responsibilities with a
particular group on an individual basis. This means knowing
volunteer leaders well enough to help them match their talents and
strengths with a particular opportunity. Matching is important for
both the volunteer and the organization.
Training is another step in the process of developing leaders. While
some of this may be formal in nature, much will be informal,
"learning by doing." The Extension educator can help leaders by
offering suggestions about procedures, identifying strengths and
weaknesses of past meetings and activities, reviewing group members'
roles and their interaction with the leader, and evaluating how well
various tasks were performed. This can be done informally, as
suggestions and observation - it is then a part of the learning
process and not a judgmental evaluation of the leader or group.
It is important to provide leaders with opportunities for growth
through new challenges. Not only will such challenges help keep
leaders active, they will serve as a way to enhance their leadership
skills. They should be involved as fully as possible in all aspects
of the projects they undertake.
Recognizing volunteers' contributions publicly is an important way to
acknowledge what they have done and to thank them. Most volunteers
do not become active in groups because they anticipate awards or
recognition, but recognition serves as an incentive for future
volunteer efforts. People recognize that others like themselves can
make valuable and appreciated contributions. Public acknowledgment
of achievements helps leaders grow, because it increases their
confidence in what they are doing and it serves to identify these
leadership accomplishments for the membership.
OUR CORE VALUES -
Developing Programs and Leadership Together
Program development is also people development. Involving
local people in Extension program development increases the capacity
of persons involved. When leaders have opportunity to make decisions
and learn how to direct a strong local educational program, they
become more skilled in deciding and conducting the program they
choose. They are able to use these skills beyond the Extension
program - they reach out in widening circles to exert leadership in
all facets of life.
Our model for program development centers on people involvement. This
reflects the core values of Extension, embodying our beliefs and basic
assumptions for all actions in our program development process.
We believe in:
- extending our resources to all people,
- involving citizens in identifying program needs and designing
their own learning,
- taking full advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of
our clientele, customers, volunteers, faculty and staff,
- cooperating and collaborating among ourselves and with others,
- conducting our work ethically and demonstrating leadership by
providing leadership and growth opportunities for youth, adults and
communities,
- bringing an objective, unbiased approach to problem-solving and
clarity to complex situations,
- education as a catalyst for meaningful change and economic
vitality for Texas.
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